UPDATED: Adolfo Lagos, VP of media giant Televisa and CEO of its telecom division Izzi, was killed Sunday in central Mexico, near Mexico City. The attorney general’s office in the state of Mexico originally investigated his death as a homicide by a gang of armed men out to rob him of his bicycle. However, according to Radio Formula, authorities now believe he was accidentally shot by a bodyguard, and are now investigating the case as manslaughter.

Lagos, 69, was shot in the stomach and died soon after he was taken to a local hospital.

The incident is a major blow to an already beleaguered company that has faced declining ratings and revenues due to changing consumer viewing habits and more aggressive competition. CEO Emilio Azcarraga Jean is stepping down at the end of the year. As Televisa’s largest shareholder, Azcarraga remains as chairman of the board while his trusted lieutenants Alfonso de Angoitia and Bernardo Gomez, who helped him revamp the company 20 years ago after his father’s demise, share chief executive officer duties.

Lagos joined Televisa in 2013 to lead in the company’s consolidation efforts of the cable industry and the modernization of Televisa’s cable operations. He was key to Televisa’s growth plans. The media company operates four broadcast networks, 15 cable networks, and a digital operation, where it has been devoting more resources to expand.

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“This is a profound loss. Adolfo was a trusted and valued member of Grupo Televisa and a very close personal friend,” said Angoitia, co-CEO of Televisa, in a statement. “We will miss his passion, his commitment and his friendship.”

“Adolfo was a determined leader in our efforts to consolidate the cable industry in Mexico and to expand the reach of our triple-play services. Adolfo worked tirelessly through the many important stages of this journey,” said co-CEO Gómez. “The entire Televisa family wishes to extend our sincerest condolences to Adolfo’s family.”

Prior to joining Televisa, Lagos was a senior executive VP at Banco Santander in Madrid, Spain. Prior to that he was CEO of Grupo Financiero Serfin, Mexico’s third largest bank and the predecessor to Banco Santander in Mexico. He started his career at Grupo Financiero Bancomer where he spent 23 years. He graduated with a degree in industrial management from MIT and in operations research from Stanford University.

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